Please enjoy this undoubtedly boring review of two books I've recently read.
Beneath the Neon by Matthew O'Brien
The book is good in that it exists. It is a first person account of O'Brien's exploration of the storm drain system in Las vegas. It's well written, but reads a lot like a newspaper article which sometimes becomes draining at times. I find myself comparing it to Brokeback Mountain, not for it's subject matter of course. But It's existence is important. Beneath the neon gave voice to an underexplored culture, as did Brokeback Mountain. The only things I would have really changed are the pull out quotes (which seem redundant in that they are already in the main text) and perhaps include a few more photos. But the photo thing is coming from me, so take that as you will.
Beneath the Neon by Matthew O'BrienThe book is good in that it exists. It is a first person account of O'Brien's exploration of the storm drain system in Las vegas. It's well written, but reads a lot like a newspaper article which sometimes becomes draining at times. I find myself comparing it to Brokeback Mountain, not for it's subject matter of course. But It's existence is important. Beneath the neon gave voice to an underexplored culture, as did Brokeback Mountain. The only things I would have really changed are the pull out quotes (which seem redundant in that they are already in the main text) and perhaps include a few more photos. But the photo thing is coming from me, so take that as you will.
Shooting War by Anthony Lappe' and Dan GoldmanThis is a compilation of a web comic that I never read till its book form. Joe gave it to me as a gift, and I thank him. The art is a fusing of real images and drawings that work seamlessley together to create a beautiful and startling vision of the future. In this future, the war in Iraq has created a plague of tension and war that has spread across borders. It follows a video blogger through his expirences inside Iraq. The story is very well constructed, and contains realistic and interesting commentary on the world we live in today. Simply a good read.
If anyone wants to read either of these I do own them and trust people pretty readily.
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